Making a Speargun

August 9, 2013

I went spearfishing with a friend and after several attempts at shooting fish underwater, I realized that I would need my own speargun to practice with. Another friend thought it was a good idea and said he would help me. This was good because in hindsight there was no way I would have been able […]

Ups & Downs

July 16, 2013

Ministry is messy. Things are not as black and white as they are in training or in theory. This is not only because we are working with flawed and human people, but because WE ourselves are flawed and human. This is why we desperately go before the Lord in dependent prayer, entrusting this work and […]

Pirate Princess

June 22, 2013

“What’s wrong with Iris’ eyes? Is she cross-eyed?” The question came from the sweet little daughter of a fellow missionary, squinting up into the sun at Iris as I held her. Her innocent little question was not the first time I had heard it and only echoed what we ourselves had been wondering about Iris […]

New to the Family!!!

April 28, 2013

We had been waiting to hear it all morning and then there it was… the togui. Paska blew the conch shell (“togui”), the weekly signal to everyone who attends our gathering on Sunday that it was time for us to start. This was the day, the day that months of teaching had led up too, […]

So-Called Missionary Call

March 22, 2013

I don’t believe in the “missionary call.” Well, at least as it is classically understood as a special, unique or personal calling that an individual receives directly from the Lord as confirmation that he or she is to become a missionary. A lot of people expect when you are a missionary that you can provide […]

Meeting Place

February 18, 2013

I get a real kick sometimes when I try and visualize our home church in Michigan operating in the same way as church in the village does. Trying to combine the two distinctly different atmospheres always leaves me in inward stitches! I can just imagine for instance, people arriving and choosing to sit on the […]

“Wearing A Laplap” for Dummies

April 13, 2012

All the women and a lot of men in our village can regularly be seen wearing an article of clothing called a “laplap.” A laplap is a wrap around skirt, roughly five and a half feet long and about three feet wide. Locally, it can be purchased in our provincial capital at the main market […]

Tigak CLA Kickoff

November 8, 2011

We have just finished our official CLA kickoff! CLA stands for Culture & Language Acquisition, and is a technical way of saying culture & language study. Two NTM consultants came out to our island and went over some materials and planning with us, as we embark on the marathon of learning another language (a much, […]

Weekend to Remember

October 7, 2011

We’ve never hidden the fact that our first eight months on the field was difficult on our marriage. Marriage can be hard in general thanks to a myriad of factors, such as family backgrounds, personal expectations, normal life challenges, etc., all of which are affected by our natural bent towards self-interest and self-protection. Export these […]

Earning Grace

September 27, 2011

A few years ago a friend and I were at a missions conference when we got into a discussion about the “right” way to eat bananas. I laughed at first, but after hearing his arguments, I became convinced that he was on to something. The first thing he shared with me was how bananas grow […]